Apparatus for separating liquids of different specific gravities and indicating means therefor



Aug. 19 1924. 1,505,791

C. S. LENZ ET AL APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING LIQUIDS F DIFFERENT SPECIFICGRAVITIES AND INDlCATING MEANS 'THEREFOR Filed May 9, 1923 3Sheets-Sheet l llllhll'l' WIWI@ IHIIIHIN [Hiwll' MMIII? HHM! i ,Hmm

Anon/vers f Aug. 19 l1924. 1,505,791 i C- S- LENZ ET AL I APPARATUS FoRSEPARATING LIQUIDS n? DIFFERENT SPECIFIC GRAVITIESJ AND INDwATlNG MEANSTHEREFGR A Filed May 9. 1923 'rs' Sheetssheet 5 |l il! I *il I. ,wie 1m, "HIIIIIIHH Arron/m8 Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,505,791 PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES sier-Rin LENZ AND GEORGE EDWARD turn, for NRW YORK, N. Y., As,-vs'IGNORs, BY MRsNR AssreNivrRNfrs, ro .AMERICAN 'MARINE DEV-.ronCORPORATION, or Nnw YORK, N. Y., a CORPORATION or Naw YORK.

APPARATUS FO'R SEPARATING LIQUIDS QF k:DIFle":EIR-ENTE SPCIFIC GRAVITIESAND INDCATING MEANS THEREFOR. i

Application led May 9, 1923.

T 0 all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that we, CHARLES S. LnNZv and Gnouon E. Juri), citizens ofthe United States, and residents of the city of New York, borough ofManhattan, in the county and State of N ew York, have invented a new andImproved Apparatus for Separating Liquids of Different SpecificGravities and Indicating Means Therefor, of which the fol-y lowing is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to'an apparatus for separating liquids ofdifferent specific gravities, such as oil and water, and to automaticindicating means therefor.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and eiiicientapparatus which can be installed for use especially on board vessels forthe automatic separation of, preferably, oil and water, so that thewater may be pumped overboard and the pum ing cease the instant thelevel of Oil is reac ied, and the oil will not be pumped overboard.

Another object concerns the provision of. means whereby a signal willautomatically be given when the pumps have finished pumping the waterand have reached the oil, so that the entire pumping operation can bestopped.

A further Object concerns the provision of means whereby in theseparation of liquids of different densities and different specificgravities and, consequently, having different degrees of viscosity,means are pro vided whereby in the pumping of one liquid. the rate ofoperation of the pumping mecha nism is affected the instant a liquid ofdifferent viscosity is acted on` by the pumps in such manner as to causethe cessation of the pumping operation.

rlhe invention is illustrated in the draw ings, of whichq *f Figure 1 isa sectional view taken through the hull of a boat showing one form of myappara tus;

Fig. 2 is a detail section of the speed controlled means for shuttingoiiQ the power to the pump and for giving a signal g.

Fig. 3 is a section through a modified form of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the liquid-flow check chamber;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through said chamber; and

mence to pump the water.

Serial No. 637,734.

Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram of a modified form of an indicatingand alarmdevice.y

The forms of the invention shown in the drawings are preferred forms,although it isunderstood that modifications in the con- `structions andarrangement of the parts and in the character of the materials used maybe adopted without departing from the spirit` ofr the invention.

Thisinvention isintended primarily for use-on shipboard where in recentyears the use of liquid fuel such as oil has come sub stantially intoluse. On board .the boats a considerable quantityy of oil gets mixed withthe bilge water, and since this water is being should'be as fullyautomatic as possible in viewfof the fact that it must `be in operationypractically all of the time and, rthere-r fore,-.the less attention andrepair that is required the more desirable it is.

. In addition, it often happens that water gets mixed with the kfuel oilin the fuel tanks, and if water gets in these tanks to any considerableextent and is fed to the burners `of the vesselsboilers, it is liable'to create 'a dangerous flare-back, which might result in loss of lifein the fire room. Therefore, it is necessary to separate ther oil andthe water for these two and very important reasons, if not forvothers.

life, therefore, provide apparatus which includespumping mechanismconnected to the tanks containing the oil and water and which whenstarted iny operation will com- This apparatus is so designed that forits operation when pumping on water the various elements of theapparatus are in normal condition.

However, the pumping apparatus is supplied with a controlling mechanismthe position of which is determined by the speed of thepumps andthe rateof operation thereof, and, therefore, when the pumps commence toy workon the heavier oil, `which is more viscous than the water, this speedcontrolling apparatus varies its position and in so doing is connectedto other controlling apparatus, such as valves, .whereby the operatingfluid, such as steam7 leading to the pumping mechanism can be closed toshut down the pumps and, there-fore, prevent the yfurther pumping ofoil.

In the more specific construction of the invention, which comprises amain pumping apparatus leading to lone vor more tanks liable to containtwo different fluids and including a control valve whereby the powerfuel to said pump is regulated, this control valve is connected to aspeed controlled mechanism such as a centrifugal ball governor, and thisgovernor is in turn connected or associated in some suitable manner withan auxiliary or detector pump mechanism which ispreferably operated by amotor, this detector pump being connected to a point near the bot-tom ofthe tanks at a slightly higher level than the pipe leading from the mainpump. Vhen the auxiliary or detector pump 'is started it will pumpwater, and as long as it is pumping water the speed of the auxiliary ordetector pump will be fairly uniform, whereby the position of thecentrifugal controlling device will be maintained in a substantiallyuniform position. In this position the valve controlled thereby andregulating the flow of power fuel to the main v pump will be open.However, as soon as the oil level is reduced so that the detector pumpcommences to pump oil, its speed will slacken or vary so that theposition of the governor balls will vary, and this variation will causethe main power fuel valve and 'the main pump to be closed, shutting offsaid pump. The difference in the level of the bottoms of the pipesleading from the detector to the main pump will permit the main pump tobe shut down before it com-- mences to pump oil. The variation in theposition of the centrifugal governor can also be caused to actuateeither or both Y an audible and a visual signal so that the detectorvpumping apparatus can also be se] closed down.

nected to the main power fuel valve, but this y will be so disposed andconstructed that 'when one fluid is being pumped in the circuit thevacuum will be balanced by a suitable means, such as a spring, to keepthe valve in a definite position, and when another fluid commences vtobe pumped a different degree of 'action will be established by thedifferent rate of motion of the pump, and this will cause the upsettingof the balance and the movement of the valve, preferably to shut off thepower to the main pump, whereby the consequent fiow will cease almostimmediately.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, 10 represents the hull of a vessel in thebottom of which is disposed a tank 11, which may be one of a pluralityof tanks disposed throughout the hull. rThis tank is adapted to hold abody of fuel 12, such as oil, which sometimes becomes mixed through onecause or another with a body of other liquid 13, such as water. It isdesirable that the two liquids be separated and that the water be pumpedoverboard, and to this end we provide a pipe 14 extending from amanifold chamber 15 to .a point near the bottom of the tank 11.

This manifold is connected by a pipe -16 to a pump 17, which ispreferably a steam pump,

supplied through pipe 18 with a power fuel such as steam. This pipe 18has in it a valve 19, the position of which is determined by acentrifugal speed governor 20, which in turn is connected throughsuitable gearing 21 to a motor22 adapted to operate a pump 23, which ispreferably known as a detector pump. This detector pump 23 is connectedthrough a manifold 24.- by a pipe 25 to a point near the bottom of thetank 11, but the bottom of the pipe 25 is disposed at slightly higherlevel within vthe tank 11 than the bottom of the pipe 14, which is thepipe leading to the main pump 17. lVithin the pipe 23a leading to themanifold 24; is a sight glass 26, so that the character of the `liquidbeing pumped by the detector pump 23 can be observed. The discharge pipe27 leads from the pump 23 to some other point in vthe vesselv where thesmall amount of water being pumped by the detector pump can bedischarged. A discharge pipe 28 leads overboard from the pump 17.

Referring to Fig. 2, the stem 29 on which the valve 19 is mounted isprovided with a plate 30 fixed thereon. This plate 30 is adapted toengage with the ends of pivoted levers 31 and 32 which arefheld bearingthereagainst by springs 33 and 34C. The other end of lever 31 isprovided with a gear sector 35 meshing with a small pinion 36 carryingan indicator needle 37 forming part `of a gage casing 38. The other endof the lever 32 is adapted to make contact and acts 'as a switch memberto close the lcircuit leading through the main switch 39, battery i0 toa light t1 and a bell 42. In the fullline position of the parts shown inFig. 2 the circuit is closed and the light 41 is lit and the bell .4 2is sounded, also the needle'indicator 37 is in a position to indicatethe pumping of oil. However, if the rate of motion of the detector pump23 increases the balls fall out to the dotted position andthe otherlparts assume their dotted positions, whereby the valve 19 will beopened, the indicator needle 37 will move to the position to indicatethe pumping of water, and the circuit,l

connected to the lamp 41 will be opened so that the lamp will beextinguished andthe bell 42 will stop ringing. n

Through suitable connections, not shown since their particular characterforms no part of the invention, the motor 22 may be started, and byobserving the sight glass 26 the operator can see if Wateris being'pumped. This fact being established, the pump is permitted to continueand theball governor moves out to normal position,

opening the valve 19, moving the indicatork reduce the level of thewater, and since the f oil is floating on the top of the water, the bodyof oil will gradually approach the bottom of the detector pipe and assoon as the oil reaches the bottom of this pipe the greater viscosity ofthe oilwill tend to slow up the actionof the pump 23.y It will be notedthat the pump 23 attacks the oil first because the bot-tom of pipe 25 ishigher than the bottom of pipe 14. As soon as the pump 23 attacks theoil the motor 22 is slowed down and this causes the speed-controllingdevice or ball governor to drop, whereby the valve 19 is closed, theindicator is moved to,

the oilA position and the signal circuit is closed,y because of theillumination of the `lamp and the sound of the bell. The oper-4 atorthen, immediately upon receipt ofr these signals, shuts od power and themotor 22 and the whole apparatus stops. The dierence of level betweenthe bottoms of pipes 25 and 14 is designed to give this signal insufficient time for the operator to close down the motor 22. When themotor is closed down,

of course, both pumps stop `and thek oil can not be pumped overboard.

Of course, it is understood that there may be a plurality of tanks suchas 11 and that this apparatus may be used to separate any two liquids ofdifferent viscosity locatedin A modification of this ideais illustratedyin Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive. In this forml the invention includes a tankinto which a pipe` lextendathis tankcontaining a level of liquid 52.andabody of Water 53. The pipe 51 connects directly to a manifold 54vvhichin turn is connected by a pipe 55 tof a pump 56. This' pump isrprovided with. a discharge pipe 57.` A valve 58 is adapted to controlthe rflow offluid from the pipe 51.-

Of course, it is understood that the manifold r54 is connected by pipesto any number of other tanks. Shunted around the valve 56 isa liquidcircuit, including apipe 59, oily check chamber 60, pipe 61 and valve62. A pipe 63 also leads from the top of the oilcheck chamber to astorage tank 64.

Preferably located between they manifold 54 and the pump 56 is a vacuumchamber .65 having apiston 56 held in .the normal position by a spring67 and connected by a lever 68 to a valve 69 located in a pipe 70 andcon trolling the admission of power fluid to the pump 56. The bottomy ofthe vacuum chamber 65 is connectedto the pipe 55 leading to the pump 56,andwhen a definite liquid, such as water, being pumped through the pipe55 the actionl of the pump is so balanced to the strengthiof the springthat the lever 68 is maintained in the normal position shown and thevalve 69 is held ropen so that the pump 56 will receivey its operatingfluid. Iny

the normal operation of the device which is adapted to' pumpwater, thevalves 59a and 62 are closed and the valve 58 ,is open, so that` thepump ywill pump water straight from the tank 50 andoverboard. However,if the automatic/detector mechanism is to be ysoon as it commences topump oil or other f liquidy than water, the valve 58 is closed and thevalves 59a and 62 are opened. This causes the water `to pass through theoilcheck chamber before it reaches the mani fold 54. i y

kThis liquid or oil-checkchamber isa drum provided Awith ak plurality ofpipes 71y of rather smalldiameter sok that any fluid passingtherethrough will meet with considerable vfriction rand, tend to, yhaveits flow checked to some'extentv This is particularly true of viscousfluids, since the resist-ance of they fluids will increase in proportiontothe viscosity. This drum is provided with la pivoteddoor y72 kwhichcan be swung open' to permit the set ofpipes to be removed, ysince theyyare mounted between plates 73 and 7 easily removed from the drum. Asylong as water flows through the check drum 'nothing happens out of theordinary, because the vacuumdevice is designed to bebalan'ced whenlwateris flowing. However, to the extentthat the liquid of differentviscosities flows, the balance of the suction chamber k is loverthrown,so that the valve 69l vis closed, (,:uttngk oli' fluid to the ,pump56,

which immediately stops.

4to form a Acompact unit which canbe The parts are so designed and theapparatus so timed that the lpump will stop before oil has reached thedischarge pipe 57. f course, it is understood that this vacuum apparatuscons by a needle indicator 75 forming part of the usual pressure gage ofthe Bourdon type. This may be disposed in the liuid circuit at anydesired point.

It will, therefore, be seen that we have provided a simple, durable,efficient apparatus whereby two; fluids of different specific gravitiescan be very easily separated by an action which is substantiallyautomatic. It will also be observed -that it is substantiallyimpossible` for the undesirable liquid to be discharged from the bottomof this apparatus and, therefore, the use of this apparatus isparticularly advantageous on boardvessels, as the prohibition againstthe discharge of fluids such ,as oil overboard is very emphatic.

What we claim is 1. Anapparatus for separating liquids of differentspecific gravities, which includes a tank containing said liquids, meansfor pumping one of said liquids from said tank, a valve controlling theflow of fluid, and means operated by the change in rate of pumping toclose said valve when the pump begins to pump the other liquid.

2. An apparatus for separating liquids of different specific gravities,which includes a tank containing said liquids, means for pumping one ofsaid liquids from said tank, a valve, and means controlled by the speedof the pump to close said valve whenthe pump slows down.

3. An apparatus for separating liquids of different specific gravities,which includes a 'main pump, a tank containing said liquidsp aconnection from said pump to the bottom of the tank, a pipe leading tosaid pump for the admission of power fluid thereto, a valve in saidladmission pipe, a detector pumping mechanism, a pipe connecting saiddetector pump at the bottom of the tank at a slightly higher level thanthe bottom of the above-mentioned pipe, and means operated by the secondpump to controlthe position of the valve in the admission vpipe yleading to the first pump.

4. Apparatus for separating liquids of different specific gravities,which includes a tank containing said liquids, a pump con- A nected withthe bottom of said tank, a

valve controlling the flow of power fluid to said pump, a secondvpumping apparatus and operated by the motion of the second pump andadapted to close said valve when the motion of the second pump slowsdown.

5. Apparatus for separating liquids of diierent specific gravities,which includes a tankcontaining said liquids, a pump connected with thebottom of said tank, a valve controlling the flow of power fluid to saidpump, a second pumping apparatus connected to the bottom of the tank,and a centrifugal governor connected to said valve and operated by themotion of the second pump and adapted to close said valve when themotion of the second pumpA slows down, the level of the bottomA of thepipe leading from the second pump to the bottom of the tank being higherthan the level of the bottom of the pipe leading to the main pump andthe bottom of' the tank, whereby when the liquid of the lighter specificgravity reaches the bottom of the higher pipe the pump connected to saidpipe will slow down before the other pump.

6. An apparatus for separating liquids of different specificgravities,which includes a tank containing said liquids, a pump connected to thebottom of said tank,'a valve controlling the flow of fluid, meansoperated by the speed of the pump to determine the position ofsaidvalve,`and indicating means operated by the variation of position ofthe speed .controlled means.

7. An apparatus for separating liquids of 'different specific gravities,which includes a tank containing said liquids, a pump connected to thebottom of said tank, means for operating said pump, a centrifugallyoperated governor, a valve connected to said governor, a signal circuit,a switch in said circuit normally open, an indicating device, and meansoperated by the movement of the centrifugal governor to close saidswitch and operate said indicator wherebyan indication is made and thesignal circuit is established. 5 I

8. An apparatus for separating liquids of different specific gravities,which includes a tank containing said liquids, a pump connected to thebottom of said tank, a valve, and means connected to said valve andassociated with the connection between the pump and the bottom of thetank to maintain the valve open during the maintenance of a definitedegree of vacuum in said connection, said vacuum operated means adaptedto close the valve when the vacuum in said connection increases. f

9. An apparatus for separating liquids of different specific gravities,which includes a tank containing said liquids, a pump connected to thebottom of said tank, a fluidcheck chamber in said connection whereby theresistance to the flow offluidthrough the connection will vary in'accordance with the viscosity of the liquid, a valve in said Vlauconnection, and means operated by the vacuum established in saidconnection to close the valve When the liquid of greater Viscosity ispumped into said check chamber.

10. An apparatus Jfor separating liquids of diierent speciic gravities,which includes a tank containing said liquids, means for pumping one ofsaid liquids Jfrom said tank, a connection from said pumping means tosaid tank, a chamber in said connection, a plurality of pipes of smalldiameter in said chamber adapted to form considerable resistance to theflow of fluid therein, especially fluids of considerable viscosity, avacuum chamber disposed in said connection, a piston in said chamber,and a Valve connected to said piston, the valve maintained in a definite position duringy the normal 'position of the piston, the suction ofthe pump increasing when the liquid of greater viscosity enters thecheck chamber, whereby an increased suction is produced, said pistonbeing caused to move by the increased suction, whereby the Valve isclosed and the operation of the pump is stopped.

y@nannies siernrn LENZ. enonen EDWARD JUPP.

